I was thrilled when Tammy asked me to guest post on her blog!
She and I have known each other since we were both the fat girls in high school, and we are both working toward bettering ourselves right now. I could not be prouder of her journey so far! Tammy has come such a long way with her eating, its amazing. Once you set your mind to a goal, it becomes the focus, and not the cravings and temptations that hamper our dreams of being at a healthy weight.
She asked me to touch upon the food aspect of getting healthier, and while I am not a nutritionist or professionally trained, I will share with you what I have learned on my own personal journey and what its doing for myself and my family.
When my husband Randall and I began our journey, much like Tammy, our albatross was fast food. Every weekend, we spent much time and money at Sonic, among other fast food eateries, and had been doing so for well over a year, since I had gotten pregnant with our now two year old son. After deciding to try getting healthier for our child, I began looking up the nutritional values of what we had been consuming, and it was appalling. The sad thing is...so many restaurants offer this information now, and so many of us just turn a blind eye to it and keep filling our bodies with these toxins.
So, once the obvious is no longer a barrier, then what? A lot of people out there go very holistic, and eliminate all processed foods, caffeine, sugars, all the way down to eliminating meats from their diet. I applaud them all. Do I think its the only way to become healthy?
No, I don't. But I do think its about getting back to basics.
Eat as much fresh as you can - fresh fruits and vegetables are a huge thing you can do for yourself. Be willing to do a little work for it. No, I'm not talking farming, but prepping. So many of us use being busy as an excuse for not eating the way we should, and some of us resort to grabbing chopped veggies at the market. First off, you have no idea how long the produce has actually been cut, or what has been done to it to keep it looking fresh. Baby Carrots are a lovely example of this. First, they are not baby carrots at all - they are all of the misshapen rejects that couldn't make it to a regular bag of carrots, whittled down and made more appealing to us. The scariest part of baby carrots? They are treated with a bleaching solution to maintain freshness. If you read the bottom of this post, you will see a quote from a baby carrot producer, admitting this. Makes you wonder what is in the other pre-cut veggies and fruits, doesn't it?
While I am not pushing a sugar free lifestyle on myself or my family, I have become painfully aware of High Fructose Corn Syrup and the many horrors that accompany it, one of them being a possible link between it and levels of mercury found in nearly half of items that were tested for the metal in a study by Minneapolis-based nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). I was mortified when I realized I had been feeding several of these items to my child. It was just another step in my realizations of what needed to be trimmed from our menus as we are becoming healthier. I now seek out breads that are HFCS Free (bread is a huge market for HFCS - even when you think you are choosing healthy whole wheat bread for your family, many times, you are also feeding them HFCS, too), among other items. When we do bring an item into the house unintentionally with HFCS in it, I have the comfort in at least knowing I have definitely moderated out consumption, and isn't that what its all about - moderation.
Moderation is a huge key to controlling the portions of your proteins, as well as the occasional treat that we all want and deserve. After all, this is not a diet, its our lives we're talking about, here!
By adapting these changes to mine and my family's day to day lifestyle, it has become a way of life, one that has made us happier, more energetic, and netted us both decent losses so far - since January I have lost 67 pounds and my husband has lost 52 pounds. If you get a chance, stop by and see how we're doing. I still have a long row to hoe and Randall is getting closer to the end of his.
Thanks, again, Tammy - this was great!
Good luck to all of you losers out there!
Pam
Journey To The Healthier Side of Life
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Pushing Harder
Today has been really productive. I got a lot done and it feels good. I got 20 boxes packed to move over to the new house tomorrow morning. I also did some household chores and got all my laundry done. I got on the treadmill this morning and finally pushed myself to do more than the usual 20 mins. I walked 34 mins. today!! That may not sound like a big deal to some people, but it is HUGE to me. I am so challenged in the exercise department, lol. I really want to get better at it. Where's Jillian Michaels when you need her?
I want to say thank you to the new followers on my blog, and the people that have been commenting. It's so awesome to have this circle of people around me, cheering me on to my goal. A special thanks to Jack Sh*t for the comment he left on my last post. I love it when he comments...he always makes me laugh out loud and that is so needed. I should stop taking things so seriously and make light of things more often. It makes the world a happier place. :)
Stephanie from Muslim Mama commented on my post as well....I added her to my blogroll. Time to spread some more love. Please pop over and read her last 2 posts. She is in the same place I was 7 weeks ago, wondering if I had it in me to really do it this time...to really get this weight off for good. Well....we're all here to tell her that she can!! Without a doubt!! Check out her blog, say hello and offer her some encouraging words. Let her know she's not alone in this battle against Obesity...that we're all part of the same army and we will slay the beast together!!
I've got a busy day tomorrow so I'm going to turn in. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Keep watching those calories and keep those buns moving!! :)
Quote For The Day:
"Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back." -Anonymous
I want to say thank you to the new followers on my blog, and the people that have been commenting. It's so awesome to have this circle of people around me, cheering me on to my goal. A special thanks to Jack Sh*t for the comment he left on my last post. I love it when he comments...he always makes me laugh out loud and that is so needed. I should stop taking things so seriously and make light of things more often. It makes the world a happier place. :)
Stephanie from Muslim Mama commented on my post as well....I added her to my blogroll. Time to spread some more love. Please pop over and read her last 2 posts. She is in the same place I was 7 weeks ago, wondering if I had it in me to really do it this time...to really get this weight off for good. Well....we're all here to tell her that she can!! Without a doubt!! Check out her blog, say hello and offer her some encouraging words. Let her know she's not alone in this battle against Obesity...that we're all part of the same army and we will slay the beast together!!
I've got a busy day tomorrow so I'm going to turn in. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Keep watching those calories and keep those buns moving!! :)
Quote For The Day:
"Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back." -Anonymous
Society Sucks
I hate people. Lol. Not all people...but a lot of them. There are large parts of society that I disagree with, for several different reasons. One of the reasons being from the political aspect, but weight loss blogging is hardly the venue for me to express my views on that. If I ever start a political blog I think I'll name it "The Rabid Republican". :)
The part of society that has pissed me off this weekend is the part that judges people based on their weight. I said early on in this blog that food addiction is the only one that's not accepted by society. Fat = gross. You can be addicted to 9 different illegal substances and drink enough alcohol in your life to drown a small nation and we'll open our arms and our hearts and put you in the best rehab place we can find, patting you on the back, sympathizing with you while you fight your demons, and praise you for every day you resist temptation. But if you're fat...or better yet, obese....well you're not worth our time, trouble, sympathies or praise.
Yesterday Dwayne and I were moving some stuff to the new house. While driving down the road we were listening to one of our local rock stations on the radio and during a commercial break, the female dj came on and said that she had read something that "really disgusted" her. She read that 2/3 of Americans are obese. "How gross is that?!?!" I immediately felt the sting...embarassed in front of Dwayne, sitting there in all my obesity...and I shot the radio a bird, said out loud, "Oh does that disgust you??? Well maybe you should KILL YOURSELF!!!" I was in defense mode because I was embarassed and ashamed. Not just in front of Dwayne...in front of all of society.
Dwayne said, "Baby...she's a stupid loud-mouth rock station radio dj who probably goes out 5x/week snorting coke and sleeping with everyone she meets. Her opinion doesn't count...don't let it get to you." My response to that is, "Unfortunately, as unimportant as she and her opinions may be, her voice represents a large part of society. She is not alone in her opinions...she just works in a venue where she's able to blast them over the radio waves." And then I got a little teary-eyed.
Dwayne pulled over into a parking lot, we got out of the truck, and he came around and gave me a big hug, holding me and kissing me, called me his "cutie", and told me how he knows I'm working my ass off to get healthy and he's proud of that. He told me to keep my eyes on the goal and to hell with the part of society that doesn't show compassion and feels the need to judge....that I shouldn't give people like that the time of day.
He's right. I shouldn't have given that girl the power to ruin my day or rule my thoughts with negativity. I shouldn't have said maybe she should kill herself....that was over the top. I don't feel bad about shooting her a bird though. She at least deserved that much. I shook it off and Dwayne and I enjoyed the rest of our day together. But still....I will be so glad when who I am is not defined by society by the number on the scale. I am so much more. We all are.
Quote For The Day:
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -Eleanor Roosevelt
The part of society that has pissed me off this weekend is the part that judges people based on their weight. I said early on in this blog that food addiction is the only one that's not accepted by society. Fat = gross. You can be addicted to 9 different illegal substances and drink enough alcohol in your life to drown a small nation and we'll open our arms and our hearts and put you in the best rehab place we can find, patting you on the back, sympathizing with you while you fight your demons, and praise you for every day you resist temptation. But if you're fat...or better yet, obese....well you're not worth our time, trouble, sympathies or praise.
Yesterday Dwayne and I were moving some stuff to the new house. While driving down the road we were listening to one of our local rock stations on the radio and during a commercial break, the female dj came on and said that she had read something that "really disgusted" her. She read that 2/3 of Americans are obese. "How gross is that?!?!" I immediately felt the sting...embarassed in front of Dwayne, sitting there in all my obesity...and I shot the radio a bird, said out loud, "Oh does that disgust you??? Well maybe you should KILL YOURSELF!!!" I was in defense mode because I was embarassed and ashamed. Not just in front of Dwayne...in front of all of society.
Dwayne said, "Baby...she's a stupid loud-mouth rock station radio dj who probably goes out 5x/week snorting coke and sleeping with everyone she meets. Her opinion doesn't count...don't let it get to you." My response to that is, "Unfortunately, as unimportant as she and her opinions may be, her voice represents a large part of society. She is not alone in her opinions...she just works in a venue where she's able to blast them over the radio waves." And then I got a little teary-eyed.
Dwayne pulled over into a parking lot, we got out of the truck, and he came around and gave me a big hug, holding me and kissing me, called me his "cutie", and told me how he knows I'm working my ass off to get healthy and he's proud of that. He told me to keep my eyes on the goal and to hell with the part of society that doesn't show compassion and feels the need to judge....that I shouldn't give people like that the time of day.
He's right. I shouldn't have given that girl the power to ruin my day or rule my thoughts with negativity. I shouldn't have said maybe she should kill herself....that was over the top. I don't feel bad about shooting her a bird though. She at least deserved that much. I shook it off and Dwayne and I enjoyed the rest of our day together. But still....I will be so glad when who I am is not defined by society by the number on the scale. I am so much more. We all are.
Quote For The Day:
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Friday, July 31, 2009
Onward!
This morning the scale says 251.8....I'm up by .8 of a lb...no biggie....better than the 5.5 lbs I was up on Monday!! Can't wait to see what the scale says NEXT week....enjoying my egg white sandwich and decaf coffee. I'll be back later tonight! :)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Too Close For Comfort
The most bizarre thing happened to me tonight...right in the midst of my newfound attitude towards healthy eating for life, crucifying Obesity, and gaining optimum health.
I almost ate an entire casserole. It was so close.....too, too close.
Here's the bizarre part....I have NO idea why. I had a good day. It was productive with cleaning house and packing more boxes for the move. No bad emotions going on...no major stress...heck, I wasn't even celebrating anything. No binge feelings, no plans to go over my calories...in fact I'm so in sync with my calorie limit now that I've actually been thinking about dropping them, but decided that's better left for when a plateau hits.
I almost always have around 800-900 calories left by dinnertime. I had the desire for a casserole...something a little creamy and a little cheesy. I had bought some 98% fat free cans of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and broccoli and cheese a couple of weeks ago, and decided to finally try them. I figured with almost no fat that they would taste like crap. Boy was I wrong. Turns out the broccoli and cheese one I used was entirely too good.
I sauteed (3) 6 oz. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces w/ my Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. I covered them in all kinds of yummy spices....a touch of salt, black pepper, Adobo, garlic powder and onion powder. I added them to my casserole dish along with 1 c. of instant brown rice, 1 can of the broccoli and cheese soup, some water, 1 jar of mushrooms, and 2 c. of broccoli. I baked it in the oven on 350 for 45 mins and then raised the temp to 400 for the last 15 mins to make sure it was good and done and heated all the way through. When I removed the foil I added 1/4 c. of reduced fat finely shredded Colby Jack cheese on top and watched it melt. I was already starting to salivate.
I went to the computer and added everything up on my nutrition website, SparkPeople, to see exactly how much I could have....I'm ususally pretty darn hungry by dinnertime. And even after nearly 7 weeks of reducing my calories from 4,000 a day to 1550, I'm still amazed at how much volume I can hold and not feel sick afterwards. The entire casserole ended up being 1150 calories, half of it being 575. I decided I needed to eat half the casserole, lol, and I did. Of course I shared some with my puppy dog, so I didn't eat the whole whopping plate full, but probably 80% of it.
Here's the problem. It was TOO good. Just creamy enough, just cheesy enough (I do NOT like a ton of cheese in my food), and the chicken had just the right flavor. I wanted more. I took my plate back to the kitchen, set it down, and stared at that beautiful casserole. After what I had already eaten, I had 289 calories left for the day. I could have had a little more, but I wanted ALL of it.....another 575 calories which would have sent me way over, not to mention probably would have sent me to the bathroom puking my guts out once the entire thing hit my stomach.
Who eats ENTIRE casseroles in one sitting????? Good grief.
I stared at it...my eyes glazing over as if I were in a deep trance...food trances are the worst kind. I could just barely hear Skinny Tammy screaming at me in the background....very, very faint....barely audible.
nooooooooooooooo fat tammy....don't do it!....think of destin....think of the 21 lbs you've already lost....think of how much you're going to hate yourself....it's the day before weigh day for God's sakes......step away from the casserole.....save yourself!
It was so faint...so far off in the distance......I could just barely hear it. The casserole was winning out. I took a bite. OMG it was sooo good. Why do I have to cook so good? Why didn't I eat egg whites for dinner on the night before weigh day? I took another bite. And all of a sudden I was jolted out of my trance like Skinny Tammy was standing right beside me screaming in my ear with a megaphone....
GET YOUR FAT A$$ AWAY FROM THAT DANG CASSEROLE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??? THIS IS YOUR AMAZING MENTAL CHANGE???? THESE ARE THE GREAT STRIDES YOU'VE MADE??? THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL "FINALLY" HAVING YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE??? YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!
The best way I can describe the way I felt after snapping out of it is "frightened". I've read in other blogs where if people make a mistake or nearly do, they try to analyze it, identify trigger foods, certain emotions that set off bad eating, etc. I have no answer for mine and that frightens me. I very nearly ate that whole thing....1150 calories in one meal.....more food than any human being needs to put in their bodies in one sitting....would have totally killed all the work I've done this week to get off the sodium gain from all the birthday/restaurant eating LAST weekend.
And I just don't know why.
All I can say is that I hope it doesn't happen again...or if it does, I hope Skinny Tammy is a little more audible from now on. It's really, really bothering me. It's screwing with my mind. It doesn't jive with my decision to get this weight off at all. Yeah, I'm definitely frightened at what a close call that was, and having no reason to explain it.
Moving on....tomorrow morning is my weigh-in. I've drank enough water this week to float the Titanic. As I mentioned earlier in the week, after my 3 restaurant meals last weekend, I got on the scale Monday morning and saw a 5-6 lb. gain. Yikes. We'll see where it ends up. I can promise you one thing though....the following week WILL be a loss. The numbers WILL go down. How do I know that? Because I know what it takes to lose. It takes a decision to do the work, it takes daily consistency on staying within your calorie limit, it takes persistence with your daily exercise...pushing yourself as far as you're able to go. That's what I'll be doing this next week.
I'm really looking forward to the next 7 days. And there will be NO restaurant/Publix deli food this week. NONE. ZERO. I don't care what we're celebrating...I don't care if I win the lottery...we won't be celebrating it in SODIUM HELL!!! If I win, it will be more like....turkey burger and egg whites for EVERYONE!!! I'm buying. ;)
Quote For The Day:
"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that the final victory comes." -Buddha
I almost ate an entire casserole. It was so close.....too, too close.
Here's the bizarre part....I have NO idea why. I had a good day. It was productive with cleaning house and packing more boxes for the move. No bad emotions going on...no major stress...heck, I wasn't even celebrating anything. No binge feelings, no plans to go over my calories...in fact I'm so in sync with my calorie limit now that I've actually been thinking about dropping them, but decided that's better left for when a plateau hits.
I almost always have around 800-900 calories left by dinnertime. I had the desire for a casserole...something a little creamy and a little cheesy. I had bought some 98% fat free cans of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and broccoli and cheese a couple of weeks ago, and decided to finally try them. I figured with almost no fat that they would taste like crap. Boy was I wrong. Turns out the broccoli and cheese one I used was entirely too good.
I sauteed (3) 6 oz. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces w/ my Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. I covered them in all kinds of yummy spices....a touch of salt, black pepper, Adobo, garlic powder and onion powder. I added them to my casserole dish along with 1 c. of instant brown rice, 1 can of the broccoli and cheese soup, some water, 1 jar of mushrooms, and 2 c. of broccoli. I baked it in the oven on 350 for 45 mins and then raised the temp to 400 for the last 15 mins to make sure it was good and done and heated all the way through. When I removed the foil I added 1/4 c. of reduced fat finely shredded Colby Jack cheese on top and watched it melt. I was already starting to salivate.
I went to the computer and added everything up on my nutrition website, SparkPeople, to see exactly how much I could have....I'm ususally pretty darn hungry by dinnertime. And even after nearly 7 weeks of reducing my calories from 4,000 a day to 1550, I'm still amazed at how much volume I can hold and not feel sick afterwards. The entire casserole ended up being 1150 calories, half of it being 575. I decided I needed to eat half the casserole, lol, and I did. Of course I shared some with my puppy dog, so I didn't eat the whole whopping plate full, but probably 80% of it.
Here's the problem. It was TOO good. Just creamy enough, just cheesy enough (I do NOT like a ton of cheese in my food), and the chicken had just the right flavor. I wanted more. I took my plate back to the kitchen, set it down, and stared at that beautiful casserole. After what I had already eaten, I had 289 calories left for the day. I could have had a little more, but I wanted ALL of it.....another 575 calories which would have sent me way over, not to mention probably would have sent me to the bathroom puking my guts out once the entire thing hit my stomach.
Who eats ENTIRE casseroles in one sitting????? Good grief.
I stared at it...my eyes glazing over as if I were in a deep trance...food trances are the worst kind. I could just barely hear Skinny Tammy screaming at me in the background....very, very faint....barely audible.
nooooooooooooooo fat tammy....don't do it!....think of destin....think of the 21 lbs you've already lost....think of how much you're going to hate yourself....it's the day before weigh day for God's sakes......step away from the casserole.....save yourself!
It was so faint...so far off in the distance......I could just barely hear it. The casserole was winning out. I took a bite. OMG it was sooo good. Why do I have to cook so good? Why didn't I eat egg whites for dinner on the night before weigh day? I took another bite. And all of a sudden I was jolted out of my trance like Skinny Tammy was standing right beside me screaming in my ear with a megaphone....
GET YOUR FAT A$$ AWAY FROM THAT DANG CASSEROLE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??? THIS IS YOUR AMAZING MENTAL CHANGE???? THESE ARE THE GREAT STRIDES YOU'VE MADE??? THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL "FINALLY" HAVING YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE??? YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!
The best way I can describe the way I felt after snapping out of it is "frightened". I've read in other blogs where if people make a mistake or nearly do, they try to analyze it, identify trigger foods, certain emotions that set off bad eating, etc. I have no answer for mine and that frightens me. I very nearly ate that whole thing....1150 calories in one meal.....more food than any human being needs to put in their bodies in one sitting....would have totally killed all the work I've done this week to get off the sodium gain from all the birthday/restaurant eating LAST weekend.
And I just don't know why.
All I can say is that I hope it doesn't happen again...or if it does, I hope Skinny Tammy is a little more audible from now on. It's really, really bothering me. It's screwing with my mind. It doesn't jive with my decision to get this weight off at all. Yeah, I'm definitely frightened at what a close call that was, and having no reason to explain it.
Moving on....tomorrow morning is my weigh-in. I've drank enough water this week to float the Titanic. As I mentioned earlier in the week, after my 3 restaurant meals last weekend, I got on the scale Monday morning and saw a 5-6 lb. gain. Yikes. We'll see where it ends up. I can promise you one thing though....the following week WILL be a loss. The numbers WILL go down. How do I know that? Because I know what it takes to lose. It takes a decision to do the work, it takes daily consistency on staying within your calorie limit, it takes persistence with your daily exercise...pushing yourself as far as you're able to go. That's what I'll be doing this next week.
I'm really looking forward to the next 7 days. And there will be NO restaurant/Publix deli food this week. NONE. ZERO. I don't care what we're celebrating...I don't care if I win the lottery...we won't be celebrating it in SODIUM HELL!!! If I win, it will be more like....turkey burger and egg whites for EVERYONE!!! I'm buying. ;)
Quote For The Day:
"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that the final victory comes." -Buddha
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Big Reward
Guess what I've been thinking about all day? My goal weight...and more importantly...the month I set to reach it by. I know that some people don't believe in setting a date...they say it's not important...that making up your mind is what's important and once that's done..it doesn't really matter when you get there because you now have the knowledge that you WILL get there.
Well....that might work for some people...but not for me. I'm a flounderer. I have to have a specific goal month set...something to lock my eyes on...something to work towards with everything I have in me...something to get me excited from knowing that with each month that passes and another 10 lbs. gone....I'm really getting there this time. I'm really doing it. It makes it tangible for me. It makes me work harder. It gives me the drive I need to buckle down and get it done.
With that said...I already know within me that I'm not going to completely freak and turn the other way and gain back 200 lbs if I don't hit my goal in April. My mind has already been made about losing the weight, and about doing it in a healthy manner...based on an average loss of 2 lbs/wk or so. If it stretches out a little further because I hit a few plateaus along the way, then I'm okay with that. I'm already expecting the plateaus....it seems to happen to everyone and I'm no different than anyone else. I know I'll hate them when they get here....probably cuss my way all the way through it. But I know they're coming and my goal month is not set in stone.
HOWEVER....in order to keep my focus and my drive at the level it needs to be...I'm going to continue to focus on April. After all these years upon years of being fat, overweight, and eventually obese....I mean YEARS.....April seems like it's only a stone's throw away and that in itself is exciting to me.
I was also thinking about my reward system for every 15 lbs. I really like that idea and I'm glad I did that for myself. As I said before, when I was at my highest point of 340 lbs several years ago....and I lost 83 lbs. in 7 months....I never once rewarded myself that entire time. I should have. I think it's tremendously important to keep the momentum going and give yourself a pleasant little boost inbetween all the egg whites and turkey burger.
Then it hit me the other day. I haven't established the BIG reward for when I reach my goal!!! How could I have forgotten that? The most important reward of them all? Yes I know....there will be little rewards along the way.....fitting into restaurant booths, not breaking chairs, clothes that don't have elastic in the waist, higher self-esteem and confidence, etc. But I want something that I specifically set aside to congratulate myself for finally getting control over my life. For finally taking my life back from Obesity. For finally making my health and my life the most important thing over anything or anyone else. I deserve that, just as we ALL do.
I started thinking about what I love most...what I love to do the most...who I would want to share it with...something that I'd really feel was a substantial reward for all the hard work...for beating the demons that have held me down for so long....for finally, once and for all, breaking the chains of addiction.
And I found my answer. I talked to Dwayne about it and he's all for it. Dwayne, Scarlette and I are taking a 7 day trip to a beach to celebrate my success. Probably going to go to Destin, FL because I love the blue-green waters in the Gulf. As I've mentioned before, I love the water. I can't get enough of it. And now that I don't live anywhere close to it like I did when I lived in Jacksonville, FL.....I miss it so much more. When Dwayne and I make our beach trips now that we live in the middle of Georgia...it's usually to Hilton Head, SC. because it's the shortest distance to drive to get to the ocean....5 hours. I think Destin will be about a 7 hour drive if we go down through Alabama.
I am soooo looking forward to this. And the incentive is already working....we just decided a couple of days ago, and in that short time period I've already caught myself thinking about popping something in my mouth that I shouldn't....would put me over my calories for the day...and I've stopped and remembered Destin. Ocean-front condo....palm trees....blue skies....waves rolling in and lapping against the shore....running with the puppy and flying our kite....sand between my toes....pool and jacuzzi close by....being with Dwayne and Scarlette together for 7 whole days with no phone...no interference from the outside world....
Needless to say....I haven't gone over my calories. I am right on track and that's where I plan on staying.....all the way to Destin. :)
"Quote For The Day"
"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself." -Henry Ward Beecher
Well....that might work for some people...but not for me. I'm a flounderer. I have to have a specific goal month set...something to lock my eyes on...something to work towards with everything I have in me...something to get me excited from knowing that with each month that passes and another 10 lbs. gone....I'm really getting there this time. I'm really doing it. It makes it tangible for me. It makes me work harder. It gives me the drive I need to buckle down and get it done.
With that said...I already know within me that I'm not going to completely freak and turn the other way and gain back 200 lbs if I don't hit my goal in April. My mind has already been made about losing the weight, and about doing it in a healthy manner...based on an average loss of 2 lbs/wk or so. If it stretches out a little further because I hit a few plateaus along the way, then I'm okay with that. I'm already expecting the plateaus....it seems to happen to everyone and I'm no different than anyone else. I know I'll hate them when they get here....probably cuss my way all the way through it. But I know they're coming and my goal month is not set in stone.
HOWEVER....in order to keep my focus and my drive at the level it needs to be...I'm going to continue to focus on April. After all these years upon years of being fat, overweight, and eventually obese....I mean YEARS.....April seems like it's only a stone's throw away and that in itself is exciting to me.
I was also thinking about my reward system for every 15 lbs. I really like that idea and I'm glad I did that for myself. As I said before, when I was at my highest point of 340 lbs several years ago....and I lost 83 lbs. in 7 months....I never once rewarded myself that entire time. I should have. I think it's tremendously important to keep the momentum going and give yourself a pleasant little boost inbetween all the egg whites and turkey burger.
Then it hit me the other day. I haven't established the BIG reward for when I reach my goal!!! How could I have forgotten that? The most important reward of them all? Yes I know....there will be little rewards along the way.....fitting into restaurant booths, not breaking chairs, clothes that don't have elastic in the waist, higher self-esteem and confidence, etc. But I want something that I specifically set aside to congratulate myself for finally getting control over my life. For finally taking my life back from Obesity. For finally making my health and my life the most important thing over anything or anyone else. I deserve that, just as we ALL do.
I started thinking about what I love most...what I love to do the most...who I would want to share it with...something that I'd really feel was a substantial reward for all the hard work...for beating the demons that have held me down for so long....for finally, once and for all, breaking the chains of addiction.
And I found my answer. I talked to Dwayne about it and he's all for it. Dwayne, Scarlette and I are taking a 7 day trip to a beach to celebrate my success. Probably going to go to Destin, FL because I love the blue-green waters in the Gulf. As I've mentioned before, I love the water. I can't get enough of it. And now that I don't live anywhere close to it like I did when I lived in Jacksonville, FL.....I miss it so much more. When Dwayne and I make our beach trips now that we live in the middle of Georgia...it's usually to Hilton Head, SC. because it's the shortest distance to drive to get to the ocean....5 hours. I think Destin will be about a 7 hour drive if we go down through Alabama.
I am soooo looking forward to this. And the incentive is already working....we just decided a couple of days ago, and in that short time period I've already caught myself thinking about popping something in my mouth that I shouldn't....would put me over my calories for the day...and I've stopped and remembered Destin. Ocean-front condo....palm trees....blue skies....waves rolling in and lapping against the shore....running with the puppy and flying our kite....sand between my toes....pool and jacuzzi close by....being with Dwayne and Scarlette together for 7 whole days with no phone...no interference from the outside world....
Needless to say....I haven't gone over my calories. I am right on track and that's where I plan on staying.....all the way to Destin. :)
"Quote For The Day"
"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself." -Henry Ward Beecher
Treadmill Thwarted
Grrrrrrrr....I have been so upset this afternoon/evening/night. I have got serious knee issues and I don't know why. I guess it's possible that I twisted or strained something yesterday while moving stuff to the new house...but I didn't notice it at the time. I noticed it today when getting ready to go to the treadmill. Figures. The right side of my right knee is throbbing...like the tendon on the side that runs just above the knee cap to just below it. It's very weak, and there's a sickening feeling when I walk like the knee is going to blow out to the right or something. It feels gross and it hurts like hell. I went to bed at 11pm tonight without posting because it was hurting so bad. I got back up at 1:15am, unable to sleep, because it's throbbing beyond belief. I'm fixing to go take some Advil and see if it's an inflammation problem. Everyone knows that I've been trying to get off a sodium gain from this past birthday weekend, and now I can't exercise until this clears up. I am more than just a little miffed to say the least. I'm also really disappointed that if it doesn't get better soon, I won't be able to go hiking with Dwayne this weekend. Crap, crap, crap. Goodnight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
